zeekaran

I agree, pointing or fist pumping always seems to get the job done
 

 

Look up WWII photos of German and British military officers. Look at their stance and bearing. That is going to be as close as you can get to looking the way they did on screen.

Always like a bit of pointing myself...

Imperial Officer bare minimum:
Tunic + jodphurs = $130 (cosplaysky + custom measurements)
Hat = $55 (http://501storders.weebly.com/)
Belt = $46 (Tigg-Wolf)
Boots = $70-150
 
Total = $301-381 (depending on boots)

Alternatively a "tea-time" looks quite good as well (but you have to happen have a tea in your hand)
 

 
And when Vader walks by: "Would you care for a cup of tea, my Lord?"

These are all pictures from the West End Games Star Wars RPG. I will break them down:
- The first picture is of your run-of-the-mill Imperial Army Trooper. They were pretty much just AT-ST pilots with an E-11 and I'm just fine with that. Their old description reads: "Army Troopers make up a vast number of the Empire's planet-bound fighting forces. These soldiers wear similar uniforms to the Naval Trooper, complete with a helmet, but the Army wears a gray-colored uniform and partial armor for protection. These soldiers are trained only to fight, and they do it very well. They are taught all manner of combat techniques. Hand-to-hand, blaster pistol, grenade, and heavy weapons training are just some of the areas these soldiers are expected to excel in."
 
- The second picture is of a "Special Missions Trooper". These guys are picked from the regular Army Troopers but are far beyond their compatriots in terms of skill and training. They receive the best equipment available to troopers (which still sucks compared to what Stormtroopers get) and are comparable to modern-day special forces in terms of combat tactics and skill set. Note that they still wear the flightsuit-type fatigues, but have heavier armor. I don't have the description for them as they were featured in a different book.
 
- The third picture is of an Army Assault Crew Soldier. They, oddly enough, were Army Troopers specializing in combating vehicles, but wear a coat and pants. The coat has several pockets on the sleeves and the pants are not of a jodhpur-type. Their description reads: "The Imperial Army uses surface attack vehicles such as the AT-AT and AT-ST walkers to equal the fury of their assault troopers. These vehicles are all heavily armed and armored to provide maximum fire power and protection to the units they are assigned to. The crews that service these war machines are soldiers with training in the operation of a variety of ground of ground assault vehicles. Most of these machines are crewed by a pilot, gunner, and a combat coordinator (or commander). Depending on the size and type of the vehicle, there may be additional crew members or fewer crew handling multiple roles. Like the normal Army Trooper, assault crewmen wear gray uniforms and partial body armor. They recieve all the combat training given to the trooper, as well as the training needed to operate the ground assault vehicles. They also learn how to best apply the Imperial mindset of rule by fear through the use of their war machines." The odd thing with these troopers, though, is that they are shown NOT wearing the AT-ST pilot uniform when they should be the only ones who definitely DO wear it. I always just figured that all these pictures represent various configurations of, basically, the same uniform.
 
- The fourth picture is a favorite of mine as it really gives you an idea of what it would look like to see the Army Trooper deployed in combat. Lightly-armed, lightly-armored, and only effective through strength of numbers and zeal. The Army Troopers, to me, are a perfect representation of how expendable the common man is to the Imperial war machine.
 
- The fifth picture is supposed to show a Special Missions Trooper getting intel from a local informant, but it definitely looks like he's wearing the coat worn by the Assault Crew Soldier. Either way, though, it's a cool look at how these puppies could look in the field and how salty and badass a veteran Army Trooper could look.

These are pictures of Imperial Medics (who are from the same West End Games RPG but never pictured) and the Force Unleashed's Version of an Officer. Unfortunately, though, I don't have any game text to accompany them as I don't own the sourcebook they were featured in. Anyways, though, here we go:
 
- The first picture is of the Naval Medic. You can see that he's just wearing an Officer's uniform, but has the hard-shell backpack, belt, and bandoleer for his role on the battlefield.  These guys see less action than their ground-based comrades (as is the case in real nautical services) but are still up to the task of patching people up. With a normal Officer's outfit, too, it would be far easier to convert over to a Naval Medic than an Army Medic.
 
- The second and third pictures are both of the Imperial Medic from the Wii/PSP version of The Force Unleashed. The Army Medic is shown wearing a General Veers-style helmet (no chinstrap) but I would imagine that was just because they didn't want to render a chinstrap when they already had his helmet done for the Kashyyyk fight
 
- The third picture is of, what the game liked to call, an Imperial Officer. Oddly enough, though, they look nothing like what they're supposed to. Kneepads, E-11 holsters, pauldrons, and (what you can clearly see in game) a big black stripe on the side of each leg? That's what a Special Missions Trooper wears and, if you look at it like that, then they're a good look at what a render of them could look like.
 

Hey guys! 501st TK here - first post to the IOC, yay! Just wanted to help clear up some stuff for everyone who is going back/forth on ANOVOS stuff.
 
Regarding Imperial Officer Uniforms & Disney
I'm an Annual Passholder at Disneyland and go to the park about every 2 weeks. Since the Launch Bay opened, I've been going in there and staring at everything... drooling, of course. Haha! So, the Imperial Officer hats that are sold directly at the park are NOT from ANOVOS. They are made directly for Disney by a factory in China - and are only intended for park guests to where for fun. Whereas, they look pretty great for a souvenir hat... they're also pretty flimsy and not screen-accurate by any means. The ANOVOS hats will be much higher quality. I've seen them at multiple cons and they look pretty amazing, with an interior lining and they hold their shape. The Imperial Officer uniform at Disneyland looks/feels really high quality. I believe it's the Standard version, as the price is $650. But I can confirm, it does not have a modesty panel at the neckline. But honestly, it's a very easy thing to add on your own. Matching the material/color might be slightly difficult, but the panel is hidden for the most part. On a side note, Disneyland does carry the belt buckles on the shelf and my girlfriend picked up one for her Juno Eclipse costume. They are excellent quality. And they SHOULD be for $65! Ouch!
 
Regarding TK Armor
So I know there's been a lot of complaints about the ANH armor set - not just here, but everywhere else. I understand where people are coming from - but some of the complaints have merit, and many of them do not. Let me just offer my perspective. Firstly, yes having to pay for something and wait almost a year for it to arrive - sucks. Especially when you are being told... another month... another month.... another month... and you're hoping/planning to wear the costume to events, etc. BUT with that being said - that is just the way ANOVOS works. They are very upfront and transparent about it. And they do a lot of hard work to communicate with buyers - i.e. status emails, picture updates, interaction on forums/social media. Plus they offer the option to cancel and get a refund at any time, up until the item ships. In exchange for your patience and understanding, they offer you lower prices. The TK armor kit was $350 for Tier 1 buyers - and let me tell you from experience - that is simply INCREDIBLE. Especially since it comes with a completely built helmet, decals, hardware, undersuit, gloves, real leather holster, belt, instructions!!, velcro, strapping, neck seal, and drop boxes. I spent $550 for my ATA kit 2 years ago and didn't get ANY of that. The holster alone would cost you $60 on Trooperbay! The roll of velcro, straps, and hardware would be over $20-30. I think once you put this into perspective, having a little patience with ANOVOS should make sense. And furthermore, ATA had a wait-list of 8 months before I even got the option to buy it (just throwing that out there). 
 
And let me just vouch for the kit personally. I received mine 2 weeks ago and it's actually fantastic. The plastic itself is a little thinner than my ATA suit, but it's very sturdy once you start building. People have complained about the helmet being wonky in places, the ab plate being warped, the eye holes not being trimmed enough - and some people have even claimed that the armor has been recast from other armor. All of this is ridiculous. Simply put... use Google, type "original screen used Stormtrooper armor"... and you will see that ANOVOS has done an amazing job matching the imperfections of the original suits. I don't think people take the time to do any research before they start throwing out complaints. The only thing that I don't like is the fabric belt - which in my opinion is too flimsy to be usable. It's super thin and does not have an interior structure keeping it rigid. But no big deal. It was basically free, haha! So I tossed it and ordered a new belt from Rob Kittell, who makes super sturdy TK belts for $35. Problem solved - simple as that. 
 
Does the armor qualify for 501st? As many of you probably know - no armor does right out of the box. It's all about how you build/wear it. But I can definitely tell you that my ANOVOS armor set will be much easier/faster to build to the correct specs than my ATA kit was. And I love love love my ATA suit - but it took a lot of work with zero instructions. So for those of you that got the ANOVOS TK kit, be happy and have fun building it! Remember that a lot of people weren't able to get it and you are one of the lucky ones who did! And for anyone who is complaining or hearing complaints - all I ask is this: PLEASE do your research before making an assessment. Don't just start complaining or repeating things that you overheard some 501st guy say at a party, etc. etc. That just perpetuates negativity and incorrect information - and ultimately makes good companies like ANOVOS less likely to offer more products to us in the future. 
 
 
Phew! That was a long, first post! Haha, sorry guys and hello - nice to meet everyone! Just as a final note (in case anyone is wondering) - no, I don't work for ANOVOS. I have met some of the staff previously and own several of their products (ST:TNG uniform, BSG tank, TK Armor, and I have an Imperial Staff Officer uniform on order). But everything I said above is from me - not them. 

Not only am I official, but I got a local tailor to fix CosplaySky's screw up. They added 2.5 inches to my collar and they sewed it on crooked, shame on them.

I also finally joined my local garrison's forum and just in time, as there's a con this weekend.
 
In the eternal words of young Lord Vader, "Yippee!"

It does feel good! First try, too.
Though now there's talk of removing my style of code cylinder from the CRLs, sadface.

although I have only trooped twice but my favorite so far was "That Guy Vader Choked"

Not only am I official, but I got a local tailor to fix CosplaySky's screw up. They added 2.5 inches to my collar and they sewed it on crooked, shame on them.

I also finally joined my local garrison's forum and just in time, as there's a con this weekend.
 
In the eternal words of young Lord Vader, "Yippee!"

They didn't say they wouldn't assist further, just asking for an explanation as to why it took two months from your receipt of the item until you reported an issue so they can escalate the case because it's outside of their policy.
I think it's a reasonable question which you've answered here and should respond to them in kind. If they still won't offer any assistance then you can write them off.
Keep in mind, there is also a language consideration here (English as a second language) so things can get lost in translation particularly through email.

I think maybe just giving it an iron may help, it does not look bad

Looks fine to me. If it makes you feel better, look at some of the hats in some screen caps. They are not exactly the models of "crisp and even" on much of the actors who wore them.

This has been an issue with Cosplaysky recently. Send them an email detailing the problem and show this picture. They should make you a new tunic or have you go to a tailor and they will pick up the costs. Be polite but firm with them and tell them this is for 501st. They used to be very attentive to our needs but based on the number of complaints and ignoring or messing up people's measurements lately, I think their quality has gone down in the last couple months. As long as they are still good in the customer service realm I still recommend them, but if that starts to slip, we're really going to have to explore new vendors.

I've used velcro on the extra length to secure it

You don't want much overlap (underlap really), but I have a bit under my belt, past the edge of the belt buckle and I have a Velcro tab there to keep it straight.

My belt has an overlap the length of the buckle and cant be seen under the buckle this was done in case i needed to let it out a tad obviously cut the other end to the Buckle if you do so

They probably want you to join because the RL is, as far as I know, much less populated. Poor Rebels have to hire savages to expand their numbers.
EDIT: Neat, there's a like button.

Okay, I've ordered a small. Now to play the waiting game. In the last week, I've gone from nothing to having ordered everything. Yay.

They probably want you to join because the RL is, as far as I know, much less populated. Poor Rebels have to hire savages to expand their numbers.
EDIT: Neat, there's a like button.

The groups identify themselves as "good" and "bad" in a rather black & white way, which is why I was saying that the Tuskens are never seen as being remotely good so they really shouldn't be seen in the RL. I know people who are in both groups with the same costume, and they always tell me to join the RL as a raider... and I feel it's just wrong!

Sorry, somehow didn't catch that it was already a thing. That's what I get for only checking the first google result.
If they've always been accepted by both RL and 501, then it's probably because they fit with neither. As far as I know, the Empire has never hired them. Being a "bad guy" doesn't mean you go on the Empire side. I assumed the bounty hunters get stuck with the Empire because the Empire actively hires them.